


Will You Come Home Early Tomorrow Too?

by dreamshades



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Coupzi, Jicheol, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-04 00:56:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6634546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamshades/pseuds/dreamshades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Seungcheol tells Jihoon ghosts stories just to make sure the younger one comes home early.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Will You Come Home Early Tomorrow Too?

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like this story. Tell me if there's anything inadequate, okay?

Glancing at the wall clock on the studio, little did Seungcheol know that it was almost 11.20 PM. Being stuck here for the entire day urged him to hurry up with everything that he was doing at the moment and just went back home already. Soonyoung had said his goodbye fifteen minutes ago, right after he was done with his practice. The others traveled back earlier today due to tomorrow's packed schedule. And here Seungcheol was, standing still against the desk with a cup of mixed coffee in his hand, scowling as he thought of his bed.  
  
     By the way, Seungcheol was not the only one left in the studio. There was the workaholic producer in his working room, still sitting in front of the computer with his small pair of eyes glued to the screen. Speaking of Jihoon, Seungcheol grabbed another cup and brewed another hot mixed coffee.   
  
     Cautiously, the latter brought the coffees over to a room where Jihoon likely would be at this minute and pushed the slightly opened door wider with his shoulder. The younger one turned his head around and frowned as he spotted Seungcheol approaching with two cups of coffee in his hands.   
  
     “Hyung? What are you doing here?” asked Jihoon, baffled.  
  
     Seungcheol handed over the coffee to Jihoon who nonchalantly accepted it and took a sip before he settled down on an empty chair beside the younger one. “Practicing for sure. Also, I had some business to be settled before I go back home.”  
  
     Jihoon slowly nodded and sipped his mixed coffee.  
  
     “Shouldn't you say thank you to me for brewing you coffee?”   
  
     There was a short pause before Jihoon sent the latter a look and said, “Thank you.”  
  
     A small smile decked on his face afterward. Seungcheol drained his cup in a few seconds and placed it on the desk where the music sheets and lyrics could be found scattering around. It was a common view for someone like Jihoon, but a bit uncommon for Seungcheol. Maybe because he didn't spend most of his time rotting inside this room, little did Seungcheol find it a tad messy.  
  
     “Are you going home after this?” Jihoon asked after a long pause. He, too, had drained his cup and put it away on the mentioned desk.  
  
     “Yup,” Seungcheol replied without hesitation. “Because it's nearing midnight so I should hurry up and leave.”  
  
     Seungcheol's answer sounded a little bizarre to Jihoon's ears and in the next second, his curiosity arose. “Why?”  
  
     “Didn't you know that story?” Seungcheol widened his eyes at the shorter guy before him, slightly surprised.  
  
     “What story?”  
  
     On hearing Jihoon's response, Seungcheol slouched his back, turned to the left and right like some sort of spy and wore a straight face at the other. He was about to pout his lips in dejection when he noticed no prominent change on Jihoon's facial expression. Isn't he scared? Seungcheol thought.  
  
     “Is it a ghost story?” Jihoon lifted his brow upwards.  
  
     “Yes.”  
  
     Jihoon fell silent at his reply and merely nodded.  
  
     “Didn't you know that it's dangerous to be in a place other than your bedroom after the clock strikes twelve?” Seungcheol said in his gravelly voice.  
  
     After a short pause, Jihoon replied, “Why?”  
  
     “Because the ghosts love to wander around quiet and dark places during this kind of time. Just like you when you work on your music every day. You always did it when you're alone, right? Or when you're at quiet and dark places like this room. Right now. At this very moment.”  
  
     Jihoon made a _tsk_ sound and shot Seungcheol an annoyed look. “Do you think I would get scared that easily?”  
  
     “Nope. I'm just telling you to be careful because I'm worried about you working alone late at night with the door ajar.”  
  
     “There's nothing to be worried about, though. Because I have never seen a ghost lurking behind the door before. By the way, there's no ghost exists in this kind of modern era and I am positive that this studio is a safe haven for me.” Jihoon looked sanguine by the time he blurted out that words.  
  
     Seungcheol narrowed his eyes at the confident boy and pouted his lips. “Don't get overconfident, Jihoon. They are hearing you.”  
  
     “They?”  
  
     “The mentioned ones. Don't you ever underestimate them because they like boastful people like you and you just showed them how boastful you were by saying those words.”  
  
     Jihoon heaved a breath, deadpanned.   
  
     “Anyway, this building is pretty haunted I would say. Remember when one of the staffs here resigned from his job? It's because he saw one during his shift. That particular night, he went to a sink to wash his filthy hands and when he turned the tap on, did you know what came out? Blood. Dark red blood.”  
  
     Jihoon listened to the latter's story with a poker face on.   
  
     “Also, there's a story about one of the staffs here. He said he saw a small kid playing around at midnight. When he tried to approach the kid, he disappeared out of the blue. The staff thought that it's just a delusion, but then, he saw the kid again. And you know what? The kid was crawling...on the ceiling and he was staring down at the staff with his red, bloodshot eyes.”  
  
     Jihoon couldn't help but think Seungcheol was a good story teller. His voice tone, facial expression and his way of telling the story was flawless, all but perfect. But instead of blindly believed in the latter's words, Jihoon smirked and said, “Don't lie to me, hyung. How did you know that he resigned just because of the blood that ran out of the tap? Surely it was just a wild rumor you heard from people here.”  
  
     However, the serious look on Seungcheol's face told Jihoon the opposite. “No, it's not. I'm talking the truth now. Seungkwan told me about it.”  
  
     “Hyung, that blabbermouth is not the one whom you should trust. Seungkwan is just noisy and talks a lot so most of the things he said won't be true.”  
  
     Seungcheol furrowed his brows at the other guy's words which made Jihoon felt rather uneasy. “No. No. No. I'm hundred percent sure it's true. Because Seungkwan asked the resigned staff himself and the man told him the story about the small kid and then Seungkwan told me because I asked him.”  
  
     “Oh...is that so?” Jihoon arched his brows, slightly taken aback at the validity of the story. His pupils dilated for a brief second before he came up to a conclusion. “But who knows that it might be his delusion. You know, when people are too scared, their brain began to conjure up things that didn't even exist like a ghost.” Before long, Jihoon averted his eyes on the laptop screen, his right hand held the mouse.  
  
     “R-Really?” Seungcheol blurted, quite shaken up by Jihoon's answer. His black orbs lingered around the dark studio, dragging minutes as he fell into his own deep thought. He made a low, continuous steady sound like a bee which grabbed Jihoon's attention.   
  
     “Is there any more ghost story you want to tell me, hyung?”  
  
     Seungcheol blinked as he adjusted his eyes on the other guy and raised his brows in some astonishment. “Eh?”  
  
     An audible sigh escaped from his lips as Jihoon heard Seungcheol's one-word reply. “Is there,” he said, reluctantly reiterated the question for the second time, “any more ghost story you want to tell me, hyung?”  
  
     The latter curved his lips into a permanent 'O' and replied, “There is. Jihoon, you always come back home by bus, right?”  
  
     “Yes. What's the matter?”  
  
     “I knew someone who often go home by bus at midnight because of work. He told me that there's a haunted bus moving around at midnight...”  
  
     “And?”  
  
     “That friend hopped into the haunted bus without knowing that it's the haunted one. No one was there except him. At first, he didn't feel anything because just like you, he didn't believe in ghost. But when he wanted to pay the fee, the driver turned his head hundred and eighty degrees at him and you know what? The driver had no eyes at all. It's empty and black, just like the night sky.”  
  
     “And what happened to the guy?”  
  
     “Well, he fainted and by the time he woke up, he was lying beside a grave. I heard that if the person who rode the bus was weak, the driver would take his soul as a payment and that meant he would die there. Some said that the driver would take the passenger straight to the hell too. But luckily, that friend was safe.”  
  
     For a split second, Jihoon debated with himself whether he should believe Seungcheol's words or not. Then Seungcheol opened his mouth again and began to confide in him another story which Jihoon wished was the last one.  
  
     “The bus stop, there's a tree behind it, right? You know what? They said the twigs we often saw actually weren't the twigs of the tree. It actually is the devil's hands. Sometimes, the twigs moved by itself although there's no breeze. You know why? Because the devil wants to take you to its place and eat your soul.”  
  
     “Hopefully,” Jihoon abruptly said, “you read too many ghost stories that you are able to come up with this great storyline about the twigs being a devil's hand and blah.”  
  
     Seungcheol's eyes met Jihoon's eyes which were full of doubt. He knew Jihoon didn't believe what he had told him just now thus, he came up with a pretty solid evidence in an instant. “I've heard a story about someone who lost their child at the bus stop. That poor kid was waiting for a bus when the devil reached for him and took him away. His parents were looking for him, but they only managed to find his backpack.”  
  
     The younger one heaved a sigh and wore his bored look. “Enough, hyung. I think you should go home by now. You must be really tired, aren't you?” Jihoon placed his hand on Seungcheol's shoulder, gently tapped it and pulled his hand back to the mouse.  
  
     “You too should go home already,” Seungcheol blurted. “These days, you always come home late. Soonyoung told me that he saw you came home around six in the morning when we had a schedule at eight. Tell me honestly, how many hours did you get to sleep?”  
  
     “Don't worry, hyung. I'm used to it already. It's for our group's sake anyway” Jihoon's eyes lingered on the screen, didn't even bother with the blinding light that definitely made Seungcheol furrowed his brows and creased his forehead.   
  
     Slightly dissatisfied with Jihoon's answer. “You know that the laptop gives off a radiation, right?”  
  
     Jihoon averted his eyes on Seungcheol, wearing a questioning look at the latter.  
  
     “I've read an article before. It said that the radiation from the laptop screen is not good for your brain. So does from the smartphone.”  
  
     “Okay,” Jihoon simply replied and diverted his attention back to the screen.  
  
     Seungcheol snorted in exasperation and ran his eyes over the wall clock. Twenty minutes left before it struck twelve and Seungcheol knew he should be leaving by now. A second later, he stood up on his feet, stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black parka and looked down at Jihoon.  
  
     “I'm leaving,” he said.   
  
     “Wait. How about the cup?” Jihoon quickly asked.  
  
     Seungcheol glanced at the cup on the desk. “Well, can't you wash it for me? Thank you.” Without wasting any second, Seungcheol walked towards the door but stopped as he was one step closer to the outside. The taller one turned around and shot Jihoon a look while holding the door knob. “Bye, Jihoon. Take care of yourself. Don't let any ghost or devil take you away, okay?”  
  
     Annoyed, Jihoon rolled his eyes.  
  
     “We can't see them but they can see us for sure.”  
  
     “Okay.”  
  
     “Bye,” Seungcheol said and waved his fingers at the younger one. Before long, the door was closed and Seungcheol was out of Jihoon's sight.   
  
  
Silence swept over the studio right after the eldest left and Jihoon turned his head to face the laptop screen again, continuing his work. However, it hadn't been a minute long when Jihoon paused and stared at the screen for a few seconds. All of a sudden, Seungcheol's ghost stories began to replay in his mind like some sort of cassette tape thus making his heart thumped unusually fast. Jihoon shook his head, trying to shrug the nonsense thoughts off of his head.   
  
     “It's just a story people created to satisfy their desire,” Jihoon told himself and heaved a breath.  
  
     He soon retrieved his cup and Seungcheol's and sat up. Maybe he should wash these cups in the first place. Walking down the quiet corridor, Jihoon stared down at Seungcheol's cup and complained in silence on how lazy the eldest was to wash his own cup. And before long, he reached his destination and headed off to the sink.  
  
     It was strange but Jihoon was hesitant to turn on the tap. Because he recalled the story Seungcheol told him earlier about the resigned staff and the blood. Standing stock-still like a statue in front of the sink, Jihoon was dragging his minute with two cups in his hands.   
  
     He took a deep breath afterward and let out an audible sigh. “No way. It's just a story. It's not true definitely.” he said to himself.   
  
     A second later, Jihoon put down the cups beside the sink and held out his hand towards the tap. His face frowned as his slender fingers drew closer to the tap and he froze soon as his pale skin touched the cold metal. Why did he feel this way? Jihoon everyone knew was an intimidating one, the only one who would hit people with his mighty guitar if someone pissed him off. Jihoon everyone knew was not someone who would freeze and took minutes long just to twist the tap open and washed the cup.   
  
     Something was wrong with him today and Jihoon assumed that it might because he lacked sleep. That was why he easily got shaken by Seungcheol's silly ghost stories.   
  
     Frowning, Jihoon tardily twisted the tap and he let out a sigh of relief as the colorless liquid ran down instead of the dark red one. Before long, Jihoon hurried up and washed the cups in the fastest way possible. He himself had no clue as to why he was freaking out so suddenly but he would put the blame on Seungcheol for sure.  
  
     Done washing the cups, Jihoon placed it at its appropriate place. However, by the time he walked down the corridor, the thought of the small kid came across his mind. Warily, Jihoon looked up at the ceiling, hoping that the small kid wouldn't crawl there again tonight like a Spiderman and stared at him with his red, bloodshot eyes.   
  
     Lucky enough, there was nothing gruesome above him. Before long, Jihoon rushed back to the studio, panted and grabbed his phone which laid beside the keyboard. He took a glance at the watch and acknowledged the current time. Ten minutes left before midnight. And just like that, Jihoon reminisced Seungcheol's previous warning.  
  
     It appeared weird to him that he, all of a sudden, felt intimidated with what the taller one told him minutes ago. It appeared weird to him that everything Seungcheol blurted out which Jihoon first assumed as nonsense could stir his heart. And Jihoon found it even weird when he decided to shut down the laptop, put on his parka and left the studio room with the phone in his hand.  
  
     Well, Jihoon indeed was alone. Though he knew that there were some guys in the dance room, everything was, somehow, threatening to him at this moment. Even if it was just a sound of the door being closed by one of the backup dancers. Along with his rapid heartbeat, Jihoon quickened his pace, made his way out of the building and approached the bus stop.   
  
     However, everything got more frightening when he was outside, alone at the bus stop. Because of the tree that grew behind the place reminded Jihoon of the twigs which Seungcheol claimed to be the devil's hand. It sounded stupid for him because all of these time never had Jihoon seen the twigs moved by itself and tried to grab him from behind. But somehow, it made sense to the petite guy tonight.  
  
     Instead of sitting on the bench, Jihoon stood still in front of it, trying to stay as far as possible from the tree. Not to mention, turning his head looked at it over his shoulder. The road was somehow quiet and deserted tonight. Most of the shops there had closed and Jihoon hated himself right now for believing Seungcheol's ghost stories that probably was just a lie the latter weaved so he would come home early tonight. After a few moments of intense silence, Jihoon ran his eyes over the phone's screen and was aware of the current time.   
  
     Five minutes left before twelve.  
  
     And if the bus arrived before twelve, Jihoon was safe.   
  
     From any sort of ghost and devil he used not to believe in before.  
  
     A minute had passed and Jihoon sighed in relief as a bus pulled up in front of him. Just before the midnight approached. Before long, Jihoon hopped inside the quiet bus, looked around the unpeople vehicle and adjusted his eyes on the middle-aged man who drove the bus.  
  
     He stared at the driver to make sure the man really had his eyes and not just two black pools Seungcheol had said before.  
  
     Displeased with Jihoon's annoying action, the driver shot him a sharp look and asked, “Where do you want to go, kid?”  
  
     The petite guy flinched slightly. It was confirmed by the way. That the driver was a human and not someone who would take his soul and sent him to the hell. After a short pause, Jihoon told the man his destination and after receiving a hum from the grumpy driver, he made his way to the empty seat by the window.  
  
     By the time Jihoon stole a glance at his phone, it had already passed midnight and later on, his brows creased with worry. But before long, Jihoon shook his head, shrugging the thoughts off of his head and focused on something else instead. He soon wore his earphones and played a song from his phone's playlist. Listening to a song while avoiding to gaze outside the bus window helped Jihoon to temporarily forget about those scary things Seungcheol told him.  
  
  
The bumpy ride didn't take him too long to reach the dorm. After paying the fee to the bus driver, Jihoon hopped out of the large motor vehicle and strode towards his home sweet home (at least that was what he thought about the dorm in this kind of situation).  
  
     However, such thought didn't last long because, by the time he entered the dorm, darkness covered the entire place. Moonlight was the only source of light Jihoon could rely on since he didn't want to disturb the members who were sleeping soundly in the living room.  
  
     Jihoon was supposed to get acquainted with this situation, though. Because it was always this dark whenever he came home from the studio. It was always this quiet too whenever he strode towards the large room, except for tonight.  
  
     “Jihoon?” A familiar voice greeted him from a distance.   
  
     Taken aback, Jihoon startled, widened his eyes in a nanosecond and hastily replied, “Who's that?”  
  
     A small giggle rang through the air afterward. “It's me, Cheol hyung.”  
  
     “Oh.” Jihoon relaxed his body and breathed comfortably. “You...are still awake?”  
  
     “I went to the bathroom to wash my face and now, I'm going to sleep. So, you're home already?”  
  
     Jihoon slowly approached Seungcheol who stood in front of the small room and replied, “Yeah.”  
  
     But Seungcheol somehow felt bizarre by the way Jihoon answered him. Because the petite guy's voice was filled with nervousness and he could hear it crystal clear. “What a spectacular view. You're scared of my ghost stories, aren't you? That's why you came home early.”  
  
     “No,” Jihoon quickly denied. “It's just that most of the works are already done so I decided to come back early.”  
  
     “Aye, don't lie to me, Jihoonie. You're scared, right? Your weird speech pattern told me that.” A wide grin spread across Seungcheol's face. The idea of this devilish little Jihoon being afraid of the made up ghost stories he told him in the studio brightened up his night.   
  
     “No, I am not,” Jihoon replied, firmly.   
  
     No matter how many time Jihoon denied the truth, Seungcheol couldn't help but find it funny and cute at the same time. “Anyway, come with me. Junghan hyung sleeps in the large room tonight with Chan. Because _he want to take care of his baby_ and that means there's a space between me and Jisoo for you to sleep in.”  
  
     Without any hesitation, Jihoon said, “Okay.” That was a good idea for him for Seungcheol was still 'alive' at this moment. Because if there was anything ever happened to him, Jihoon could call out Seungcheol's name and the eldest immediately would come over to save him without having to stretch his body and yawn first. Not to mention, getting his ass off of the bed.  
  
     Done tucking himself in bed between the sleeping Jisoo and the still wide awake Seungcheol, Jihoon stared at the empty ceiling, contemplating over something.  
  
     Seungcheol who lied beside the petite one noticed how his brows furrowed and how he pursed his lips. It was indeed a common view whenever Jihoon was worried about something. “You're not lying about your work, aren't you?” he asked in a low mutter so he wouldn't wake Jisoo up.  
  
     On hearing him, Jihoon's eyes met Seungcheol's. “No,” he replied.  
  
     “Then, what is it on your mind right now?”  
  
     “Nothing. I'm just thinking about our packed schedule. That's it.”  
  
     Seungcheol arched his brows. “Is that so?”  
  
     Jihoon narrowed his already small eyes and said, “Yes.” Before long, he turned his body to the other side, facing Jisoo's back.  
  
     “Are you sure you're not thinking about the ghost stories I told you earlier?”  
  
     “No. It's not that scary, though.”  
  
     “You think I'm stupid, huh? I knew you're scared. It's just that you're not sweating too much like I imagined.   
  
     “Stop it, hyung.”  
  
     “Aye, just admit it already, Jihoonie. I knew you—”  
  
     “Goodnight.”  
  
     Seungcheol pouted his lips in grief. With just one word, Jihoon ended the late night conversation in a cold way possible. Still facing Jihoon's side, Seungcheol sulked in silence. But his sulking didn't last that long for the fact Jihoon came home early softened him. From the very first day he met the petite guy, Seungcheol always had a soft spot for Jihoon. He admired the younger one for his skill in music, for producing the group's songs and for being a member of Seventeen. Although he was clueless about Jihoon's feelings towards him, having the petite one beside him right now was more than enough.  
  
     “Jihoon.”  
  
     “What?” Jihoon replied lazily. He then let out an audible sigh.  
  
     A small smile was tugged at the corners of Seungcheol's lips. “Will you come home early tomorrow too?”


End file.
